


You are the Sentinels

by xxMOONLITsky



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-28
Updated: 2015-09-28
Packaged: 2018-04-23 20:01:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4890217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxMOONLITsky/pseuds/xxMOONLITsky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Time passes, the seasons change, people come and go, but the stars always remain the same. In a world that's taken so much from him, from the Avengers, Steve decides to give something back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You are the Sentinels

**Author's Note:**

  * For [somanyfeels](https://archiveofourown.org/users/somanyfeels/gifts).



> In response to the following prompt by aceofultron on tumblr: i bet tony was a space nerd as a kid, like he watched every episode of star trek and covered his room in glow in the dark stars and stayed up late to watch meteor showers and had a telescope by his window. i bet he would design better faster space shuttles and write to nasa about ideas. i bet tony would hear his father’s lectures about missiles helping the military and then he would start thinking about upgrading the engines so the rocket could fly to a different planet rather than different country. i bet space was just another thing New York ruined for him.
> 
> Title from Les Miserables' "Stars."

The stars were one of the few things that had brought Steve comfort since waking up in the future; they were steadfast, unchanging, reassuring. So many things had changed since then, multitudes more than he could count, but the stars - they were his constant companions. From the forests of the European theater to the sprawling metropolis that New York City had become, the stars remained the same.

Years have passed since the Battle of New York. The city rebuilt. Technology moved forward. Stark Tower became Avengers Tower. Battle companions became friends. Avengers Tower became home. But when he needed to think, when it all got to be too much, Steve would head for Iron Man’s landing strip. He’d sit with his feet dangling over the edge, sometimes with a sketchpad balanced on his lap, and look out at the heavens. Talk to them, sometimes. Sometimes he’d talk to Dum Dum or Morita or Bucky. Other times, Peggy or Howard.

But mostly, Steve would talk to Tony. Pepper had told him, on one of their many lunch dates over the years, how things used to be: the stars were Tony’s blueprints; the galaxy, his playground. Until New York. The day that completely changed Steve’s perception of genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark; the day Tony’s world became infinitely smaller. On that day, Tony Stark had shelved his dreams of exploring the universe and never looked back. So, on one of the nights where everything was too loud, too bright, too close, Steve sat down on the edge of the platform and started talking.

He knew that Tony wasn’t actually sitting next to him, realized that he was alone on the edge of the night, but Tony (even an imaginary one) was just so easy to talk to. (It’d been that way  _long_ before Steve had worked up the nerve to ask Tony to dinner -  _yes, Tony, like a date. yes, we can still get burgers_  - it was like they were puzzle pieces, fitting together seamlessly without even trying.) So he talked, about things that mattered and things that didn’t and everything in between. And after a while, he’d start to relax. He’d smile to himself, and with a quiet  _thanks for listening, Tony_ , Steve would head back inside. It never even occurred to him that Tony might have been listening all along.

It started with an apology for disobeying orders, quietly muttered into the rim of his coffee cup, the morning after Steve had ranted to the heavens about teammates who didn’t listen. Three trips outside later, the hoodie he’d misplaced and quietly lamented the loss of magically appeared at the foot of Steve’s bed, clean but with a lingering smell of engine oil that made him smile. And so it continued, lost things finding their way home, a fresh box of his favorite croissants, still hot, waiting for him after his morning run, until Steve decided that he was going to return the favor. After everything Tony had done - for the city, for the Avengers, for  _him_  - Steve was going to give Tony back the stars.

* * *

The autumn air was crisp this high above the street - clean, slightly cold - as Tony crossed the landing strip to join Steve at the edge. He plopped down next to the blond, their shoulders touching as they took in the view. Five minutes that felt like fifty passed before Tony broke the silence.

“Something’s wrong. With you. Well, not  _with_  you, you know what I mean, shut up, but with you and  _this_  - ” he gestured to the two of them and the landing platform and the sky, somehow indicating the inherent wrongness of the situation through fluid motion - “and the you not talking bit.”

There was silence for a minute - in reality, barely ten seconds - before Tony was babbling again.

“I mean, okay, yeah, I’ve been listening. To you. Not spying. Well, maybe spying - depends on your definition and I’ve never really liked the connotation of the word anyhow, but usually you talk to me even though I’m not actually there but I  _do_  listen, I always listen to you, and you’re…still not talking to me,” Tony trailed off, the words themselves seeming to run out of steam. “So, here I am. Talk to me, Steve.”

Steve quirked a smile -  _god, this man_  - more sure of his decision than ever before as he slung an arm around the engineer’s shoulders, pulling him close. Tony deserved this - the stars, the infinite wonders of the universe, and more. Steve would make the universe Tony’s again.  _Theirs_.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Steve said. “I just wanted you out here with me.”

Tony pulled back a little, looking at Steve suspiciously.

“Why?”  
“Can’t see the stars from inside,” Steve replied simply.  
“Sure you can. Internet’s full of pictures taken by all the telescopes and shuttlecraft over the years. The entire galaxy at your fingertips, all without leaving your computer.”  
“It’s not the same.”  
“Close enough.”

Steve sighed.

“When I look up at the stars, I feel - I can’t put it into words or drawings but it’s just so  _magnificent,_ each little pinpoint of light a part of something so much bigger than itself - and yet - yet, each little star has the power to shape entire _worlds_  and - ”

Steve hugged Tony tighter; what came next was  _so important_ , he just had to _listen_ , just a  _little longer_  - 

“ - when I look up at those stars - one figure in a multitude of darkness, paving the way for new things? What I see, what I feel - it’s  _you_ , Tony.”

The  _oh_  breathed into Steve’s side, barely audible but felt through the warmth of Tony’s breath, the sound of someone seeing something mundane in a completely new way for the first time, was worth more than any gift. Steve smiled again into the night, joy singing through his veins like wildfire as he held Tony close.

“I know things have changed since New York. You’ve changed; we’ve all changed. And I’m not gonna ask you to stay out here with me. I just - I wanted you to know.”

Steve felt Tony nod as the silence stretched out between them. A few minutes later, Tony spoke, the words loud enough for Steve’s ears and no one else’s.

“You’re right. I have changed. The world got darker, meaner, than I thought it ever could. But you make me want to take a second look.”

Tony paused, glancing up at Steve for the first time since sitting down on the platform’s edge.

“I want to see what you see.”

Steve leaned down to kiss Tony softly, trying to further convey his point without words. When they broke apart, he smiled, one hand coming up to brush Tony’s bangs lovingly away from his forehead.

“I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you, if that’s what it takes,” Steve said, pulling Tony close again. “The stars are still yours, Tony. You just gotta reach up and grab ‘em.”

Tony huffed a laugh against Steve’s side.

“Bit too far away for that, Cap. Bit too big, too.”

Steve just smiled as Tony burrowed further into his side.


End file.
